Bribe taint on GSK’s China execs

GlaxoSmithKline executives in China have confessed to bribery and tax violations, the country's security ministry said on Thursday, during one of a string of investigations into foreign firms in the world's second-biggest economy.

A report by The Guardian, quoting a Chinese ministry statement, says the charges have been described as “serious economic crimes”.

It has been alleged that the GSK officials had bribed doctors to "open new sales channels and increase drug revenues".

They are also being accused of faking voucher documents to evade taxes.

The ministry said that the officials had confessed to the crimes during preliminary questioning.

The Guardian says the ministry’s statement has been posted on its website but the offending GSK officials have not been named.

The statement also said the police were carrying on investigations in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Changsha, the cities from where the executives were detained about two weeks ago.

The GSK, however, has denied the charge. The Guardian has quoted a GSK spokesperson as saying: "We take all allegations of bribery and corruption seriously. We continuously monitor our businesses to ensure they meet our strict compliance procedures. We have done this in China and found no evidence of bribery or corruption of doctors or government officials. However, if evidence of such activity is provided we will act swiftly on it."

The spokesperson told the newspaper that GSK was prepared to fully cooperate with the authorities in this investigation.

A UK foreign office spokesperson is reported to have said they were in touch with the company and the Chinese authorities.